Decide 4 God
Decide 4 God is the final entry of the Abime Series.
One hour.
The woman and her team of investigators had one hour to infiltrate a prison and cause a breakout. Her dearest hope was that, among the prisoners, there would be her brother who disappeared nearly twenty years ago.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something sinister was waiting for her team.
One hour.
The man had been up for one hour, contemplating his past. Everything changed when breakfast was delivered and a box with clothing was slid through the opening in the door. He was told to put it on if he wanted to escape.
Something felt wrong but the prisoner obeyed. Someone was breaking him out… but why?
It is for the future when none may tread.
Key features:
-
The final chapter in the Abime Series. Decide 4 God contains the entire truth behind the events of both Head AS Code and Birth ME Code. Familiar faces return and new faces emerge to complete the unfortunate cast suffering through over a dozen endings due to the misdeeds of Empathy Systems.
-
Two sides of the story. You will be able to follow multiple characters as they live out their terrible tale. Side A and Side B have wildly different events making up opposite parts of a whole story.
-
Interactions are your choices. The companions you choose to explore with determine what you find, and what you find determines your fate. You can examine rooms alone or with others, and their involvement will change how the story unfolds.
-
Knowledge is a powerful curse. Everything you learn in your trip through Complex Twelve becomes a permanent part of your journey. The data transfers across playthroughs, but autosave means your information retention is permanent. Be careful of what you learn, as some of it may not be good for you…
-
A linear yet malleable flowchart. The game’s flowchart sorts your available paths and allows you to combine them in various ways to achieve new endings. Can you find your way out of this labyrinth of information and reach a Permanent Ending?
Note: Only 16:9 resolution ratio is fully supported.
Read More: Best Conspiracy Thriller Games.
Head AS Code
I like it. This is an indie game styled after the Zero Escape franchise, so there are a lot of references and spirit you can feel throughout the game. Just so you know, Head AS Code is a remake of the original title and is somehow superior in every sense. The presentation is pretty simple and there’s a lot to think about in this plot-driven story. I wish I could say much about the characters and the plot, but a lot of this game relies on reveals, so the magic would happen best if you saw them yourself. Coming up with theories is great, and I like to think this game gave me many opportunities to guess at what’s going to happen next. One of my only real non-spoilery complaints about this game… I’d say it would be the serious lacking of puzzle difficulty. As in, there’s only one real head-scratcher and that’s it. All the “puzzles” are just clicking the next option and that’s it. I get why creator decided to remove the difficulty from the game and I understand that many puzzles in the original version alienated the player from ever solving them without outside help. Still, this beats out doing obscure mathematics anytime.
– Real player with 26.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Conspiracy Thriller Games.
A refreshing swim during an absolute drought of mysterious multiple-route sci-fi visual novels, exploring esoteric concepts both originating from science and philosophy, and delving into matters of the mind and body.
Many game reviews I’ve read act redundant by repeating the plot summary and anything else you would find on public platforms, so I’ll try to refrain from doing so.
Written alone by one person, this visual novel features a strong and distinct cast whom you will interact with often, soaked in their own mysteries, to varying degrees of intimacy and personality across several routes. This is one of few VNs where, when given the option to talk with certain characters, I had wanted to talk to everybody right off the bat. What fuels the nuanced characters, their desires and motives? Hidden behind layers of facade and veil, YOU will quest to learn the reason for each member’s existence.
– Real player with 25.3 hrs in game
Dissension
Embark on an undercover mission in a medieval kingdom hovering on the brink of a civil war. Become part of a vile conspiracy or choose to act against your orders. Stand by your unlikely allies or ruin them for personal gain. The fate of the divided realm rests in your hands.
-
The captivating atmosphere of medieval decadence
-
Thrilling story heavily focused on characters and character development
-
Branching narrative shaped by the choices you make
-
A wide cast of morally grey allies and foes to interact with
-
Three slow-burn romantic routes with an impact on the story
-
Multiple ways to approach your mission: use your wits, sleight of hands, magic, or cold steel to achieve your goal
-
Immersive mini-games and puzzles, complementing the narrative
-
Pumpkin, a horse companion with her own outlook on your actions
Half a century has passed since the Kingdom of Tyrnia repelled the Imperial Invasion, but now the once victorious kingdom finds itself on the brink of a civil war.
The Queen rests with the Four now and the young King’s ascension to power is overshadowed by his suspicions towards his younger brother, Prince Bryden, who, as many think, could become a better king.
It is rumoured to be the sole reason for His Highness Prince Bryden to be entrusted with the administration of the most remote and decadent city in the kingdom.
The city of Kastra, or the Widow, was once the capital of Tyrnia. Now she is a pale shadow of her former self. Abandoned and almost of no interest to the Crown, she has fallen into the hands of local criminals who call themselves the Thieves Underground. Under their leadership, the corrupt city guards and the mysterious Church of Anar-Nehit, pilgrims from the far-southern deserts, control nearly every aspect of the city life.
Yet, even if the war has been over for half a century now, the patient and vile Ontorian Empire, just like a serpent that it bears on its banners, has prepared an even more cunning plan to seize neighbouring lands.
Under the guise of a relative of a local impoverished nobleman, Eiren, one of the Imperial spies sent to Tyrnia, will become part of a dastardly conspiracy to take over the unaware kingdom.
In order to successfully execute her orders, Agent Eiren joins the Prince’s people and will have to play her part in the liberation of the city. Together with Gieden, a crafty captain of Bryden’s forces, she begins the investigation of a daring crime that has shaken an already fragile balance in Kastra.
Eiren must act behind the backs of her unlikely allies, maintain their trust, and protect her true identity and motives at all costs.
But, perhaps, the hardest challenge for her to face will lie in the battle with her conscience and in the necessity for coming to terms with her own tragic past.
Read More: Best Conspiracy Choices Matter Games.
Kiss Upload
Kiss Upload is a futuristic-themed romance visual novel. It features four involved story paths with even more outcomes.
You play as Tobias, who begins the story in present time, living a below-average life on his own. After receiving a flyer from the owner of an innovative company, Tobias decides to participate in a life-changing science experiment which would land him 500 years in the future. That is, if all goes according to plan.
In Kiss Upload, you can choose between three female and one male love interest. Each are connected to various sides of a conflict. Will you take the side of the FBI? Or will you side with a robotics engineer who calls herself a mad scientist? Maybe you’ll fall for a cute robot. The choice is yours.
SIT DOWN, PLEASE
Game is a 1 out of 10 for the sheer fact it’s broken Video here (once it uploads) w/ time stamps to dialogue outside of the ending you can’t reach and the crashes: https://youtu.be/R_UDuAQKmQE
Disclaimer Unlike the other reviewers so far I actually played the full game (that you can play BEFORE making my review)
The first part of the game has the most redundant mechanic and takes sooooooooo long literally like 5-6 minutes a person to max the juice and you’re literally just managing 2 things. The story is really hard to follow the grammar is a bit off and you’re thrust into the world told A B and C and the story doesn’t really give you enough information about the world to draw you in and feel involved in the plot to be honest. I did enjoy the flashback with the grandpa that was probably the highlight of the game and story. (the story is probably the best part of the game by far). THE WORST PART IS you get all the way to the end and the heart crashes your game. I literally tried so many different ways to beat it the mechanic for even playing the ending is terribly hard because your chain move and your single light up move are on the same key and with the BACK TO BACK TO BACK COMBOS it’s almost impossible to get them without erasing your moves plus the heart heals when you make a mistake, so imagine my surprise when the game crashes after I FINALLY brought him to probably his last phase. Hopefully the crash situation will get fixed for future players. The game would have been a 6 out of 10 if it worked the story was interesting even though it’s not told particularly well told and it tries to do some neat things but the first part of the game drags because of redundancy.
– Real player with 8.5 hrs in game
I wasn’t expecting a game like this at first, but it drew me in pretty much immediately. The story is really intriguing and well done, so are the characters and the ending was a nice twist. But the spearhead of this game is the atmosphere, the mood that transmits is really powerful, giving me different emotions, from distress to sadness. In a word: dark.
The only flaw, if you’re looking for a game with fast-paced gameplay, fun and dynamic, this game is not for you. In fact, it’s a bit repetitive, but once you understand that the gameplay is functional to the narrative, a simple device to tell a story, it’s something you can live with easily. In addition, there is also a fast game mode that shortens the timing and does not make you lose anything in terms of plot, a mode that I sincerely recommend to anyone who wants to approach the story giving up a little immersiveness. Basically, a game that you do not see every day and that I fully recommend.
– Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
Intelligence Trader
I’ve been playing this for about 4 hours and I like it so far. It definitely feels like the game is unfinished and there’s more to come, but the basic premise of the game is clear.
Pros:
Fun concept
Interesting story lines and missions
Nice graphics (I like the look of the agent photos)
Clear interface/map
Lots of potential for expansion by tying in the missions completed with the news headlines
Cons:
A little unorganized. You can’t click on an agent placed in country and get information about them. When intel comes in to sell, you have to scroll around to figure out the highest bidder. (easily remedied with an icon indicating high and low price, or maybe highlighting with certain colors to shoe high or low)
– Real player with 6.7 hrs in game
Bought it hoping find something similar to Kremlingames products. Unfortunately realised that it’s too early to buy it. Started the game and understand nothing. Russian translation is not finished, in some places in place of words I saw just black strips… Surprise… Cannot return an agent back from a country to base. News are very interesting, but I’d like to see it in a new window. Time moves too slow. There is no explanation what is specialization of agents.
Perhaps it’s only in Russian version, didn’t play English one. Hope to see something remarkable and interesting in future)
– Real player with 5.9 hrs in game
Karaski: What Goes Up…
It’s October 1923, my name is Jan Kowalski and I am honored to be one of the first passengers onboard the airship A. A. Karaski. When I joined this miracle of technology, I was excited with curiosity, how it works and what I’ll experience during the flight. I actually thought that I would spend the entire journey in a bar on the upper deck sipping fancy whiskey with casual conversation. After boarding, I picked up a boarding pass, introduced myself to a guide of the airship and headed to my cabin. Well, was just going to, because just around the corner I somehow fainted and my plan was screwed a little. A lot.
– Real player with 21.6 hrs in game
Take to the skies in this whodunit mystery. You will take on the role of a passenger on this one of a kind airship, but something has gone wrong. The airship has been sabotage, but who has done it. Was it you? Will you be able to uncover who did it? Will you be caught snooping around and have everyone expect you of doing this heinous act?
In Karaski: What Goes Up… this is exactly what you’ll be doing. You will be playing through the game with your main mission being to get to the bottom of the mystery of the sabotage, but there are other quests that you can take on to perhaps pry information from other passengers. In this game you will have the chance to bribe guards to look the other way, entice passengers with the promise of alcohol, and of course gain tools that will allow you access to different areas of the ship.
– Real player with 8.6 hrs in game
Take As Needed
Set in a dystopian world, “Take As Needed” has a “Papers, Please” vibe.
You are a chemical engineer developing new pharmaceuticals at Mazer.
At the end of the day, you’re graded by how well you perform in combining compounds to design formulas that meet three criteria:
Reach the minimum/maximum price, use a certain amount of a particular compound, all without going over the maximum volatility.
Different color strands, open or closed, play a part in raising and lowering the volatility for each formula.
– Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
The molecule building mechanics and the procedural generation of molecule goals is awesome and makes for a really challenging and fun puzzle solving game.
– Real player with 0.9 hrs in game
Birth ME Code
EDIT: Review updated to reflect the Feb 7th 2021 ending rewrite (version 1.2.1).
–—
Birth ME Code (BMEC) is solid second entry in the ABiMe series and sequel to Head AS Code.
Overall, an enjoyable experience, although not without its criminals cons. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys darker, grittier plot-heavy mysteries and visual novels.
Disclaimer: From a gameplay perspective, BMEC does NOT offer fully integrated escape room puzzles like Zero Escape nor Classroom Trials / Endless Debates like Danganronpa, so if you go in expecting either of these from this indie game, prepare to be disappointed in that regard.
– Real player with 56.7 hrs in game
I rarely write reviews, but I felt compelled to write about this… experience, I think I’ll call it. I’m a huge fan of Zero Escape and having played this developer’s first game (Head AS Code), I was counting down the minutes until its release so I could have a solid excuse to ignore the giant pile of work sitting on my desk.
So was it worth it? Yes, absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, every penny.
Birth ME Code is an ontological mystery game wherein a bunch of people are dumped in a place and told they’ve gotta play a death game for the chance to MAYBE get out alive. So yes, same premise as Zero Escape. However, this genre is less about premise and more about world building, twists, and flowcharts. Flowcharts are essential because they allow the player to live the story from all perspectives. How many times do you play a game or watch a movie and think, “I wonder what would happen if that guy died instead of this lady?” I know, frequently. It was a rhetorical question.
– Real player with 39.1 hrs in game
Booth: A Dystopian Adventure
I saw this game in the recommended on YouTube and I just clicked it and after 10 seconds I felt the vibe and I said I have to buy it. There are very few people who have reviewed this game or have done videos and tutorials about it and I feel like I fell on a gem here. Great atmosphere, 2036, you’re playing as Ned Crawford a Food Inspector that works directly for the government and your task is to live in a booth and do your work, all the time. It may seem boring, but along the days you start to meet other characters, which are all very detailed and have their own personalities, I found myself having a voice for every character and it made it much more immersive. The whole setup of a Dystopian point & click game was always the thing for me, and people want to compare it to Papers Please, but for me it’s much more in depth than Papers Please, who only focuses on the task and not much on storyline. The tasks are challenging and you have to be fast and cautious sometimes. I don’t want to spoil anything, but EVERY decision you make, every Item you take and everything you do has consequences, so beware of that, that’s part of the fun. I absolutely loved this and I could easily sit and play it and not even notice the time pass. So, I don’t really like 1-10 / 1-5 ratings, all I’m going to say is, if you have 15$ and want to support great creators for a great game that will make it worth your time and money, do it…. Papi out.
– Real player with 23.4 hrs in game
First off, I want to say that the fact that Booth is not getting much, much more attention is criminal. Booth has an excellent narrative, and very engaging story, interesting and functional graphics style, great music, and the setting is just so unique and cool. I really felt as if I was working the night shift (mostly) alone and doing my job 3000 feet above the ocean in a booth tethered only by cords…miles from anywhere. My occasional visitors became friends. The drama and events that occurred engrossed me completely, allowing me to feel both a sense of humanity for those I could help, along with an all-pervasive fear of Big Brother watching me the entire time. Booth is a game much in the tradition of “Papers Please” but in my firm opinion, builds upon the formula and is an even better game than its predecessor. I came into this experience not expecting much. That being said, this game moved me, engrossed me, terrified me, soothed me, and totally suspended my disbelief. It is one of if not my favorite game I have played this year and I will not soon forget my experience. It is certainly the dark horse indie game of the decade. By all means, play this game. NOW!! It deserves to be played and it needs much more recognition than it is getting. Bravo! 5/5
– Real player with 23.2 hrs in game